Sunday

The late Theodore Parker is said to have replied to a Calvinist who sought to convert him: "The difference between us is simple: your god is my devil."

And so is my dilemma. I am no longer a Christian. Having never been a Muslim, Mormon, Later-day Saint, etc., I don't hold them responsible for pushing lies on me like I do the Christians and so write a lot about the Christians, but the other Power Religions are no better. Truth is, however, if the Christian church would have remained the Buddhist like religion it once was that said things like, "Politics is below us, we answer to a higher power," I might still be converting souls for them. As it is, they did show their true colors when they became a political party telling it's followers to support Wars, which, even the Fictional Jesus they created would have disproved of. So for those of you who are Christians and read my blog, now you know why I so often point out the problems with your faith. Your faith is the bad-parent faith that raised me and so now I have cut them out of my life after years of therapy, and EsotericDaily.com is my therapy.A couple nights ago I woke up and saw the planet Venus. It was a weird night in Dallas where there wasn't a cloud in the sky and so the planet sparked like the giant "Morning Star" she was believed to be back in the mythical writing days. "Is that the star the three kings were suppose to have followed," I asked, more importantly, "Who the fuck were the three kings, and why were they used in the Jesus myth?"So I pulled a David Wilcocks and I went to the internet for facts, and I found a lot of explanations of how there was a Super Nova around the year 12 BC. Which is fine, except for one thing, the story is bullshit. There probably wasn't a Jesus and the story that we first really start seeing written anywhere other than the fictional bible starts around 300 AD when pagan kings started using the Christian God in battle and when he gave their victories, voilà, the Loving Savior!

"I read it on the internet, it has to be true!"

To put this in perspective, when I was a Christian, I was taught that the Muslim god Mohammad, was a phony, made to bring the people together to defy Christians. Yes, no shit, that's what they believe. The more radical Christians believe Satan led Mohammad to build his faith. Of course, the radical Muslims believe Christians are the Great Satan, and so we have a vibrant War Profit Machine in the USA, and loonies with bombs strapped to their ass in the Middle East.

So let's look at early religion before it became the big war-profiting political party it is today -- and unfortunately has been since Christianity and Islam became the faith of the masses. Before that, god was the sun. The giver of light, who occasionally got pissed and made things dark. The people would gather in their caves and huts and sing hymns until the sun came back out and then called it a miracle. From the start, I imagine, there were a few who said, "This is bull shit." And what did they do with that knowledge? You got it, used it to their advantage. This hasn't changed from the television evangelists asking for money to the politicians claiming they believe in Jesus when by the very fact that they are politicians condemns them to the hell Jesus spoke of. True is: they don't really believe but know you do and so use it for power.

Gregory the Great wrote to his missionary in Britain, the Abbot Mellitus, second Bishop of Canterbury, that 'whereas the people were accustomed to sacrifice many oxen in honor of demons, let them celebrate a religious and solemn festival, and not slay the animals to the devil (diabolo), but to be eaten by themselves to the glory of God.

This, my brothers and sister, is the Power Faiths of today. You know them by their deeds.

Friday

This is bizarre. This morning, around 5am, I heard someone call my name in the distance. It woke me up. Of course, being in my fifties, I took the opportunity to piss. On the way back to my bed, for some strange reason I decided to look out my window up at the sky, and there in the dark sky was a glowing white star. I thought it might be a helocopter because it was way bigger than the usual stars. "Could this be a planet," I asked. So I got my iPHone and opened my Skyview Free application and pointed it to the glowing dot and sure enough, it was Venus. I knew instantly that that is what had called me and it meant something.

This morning I looked up what it might be on the Internet, most said something like:

Venus is the planet that represents love and a Goddess of the same nature. When you have dreams of Venus – either the planet or the Goddess – then you can bet that changes (for the better or worse) are on the horizon for you in the romance department.

But I also found this on the Botticelli "The Birth of Venus" painting:

Botticelli The Birth of Venus is one of the most famous paintings of
all time. One that never ceases to capture our imaginations. Here we
take a closer look at this masterpiece and some of the fascinating
stories that surround it.

Botticelli The Birth of Venus – What is the meaning?

The painting shows the triumphant Goddess of Love and Beauty. The Romans knew her as Venus, while for the Greeks she was Aphrodite. She stands tall and naked at the centre of the canvas, looking ethereal and luminous. She seems to draw all attention to herself; a symbol of beauty, who is both physical and spiritual. If you believe the neoplatonic philosophers, contemplating her beauty is a way to elevate the human spirit and get closer to the divine.

Representation of mythological subjects was trending in the Renaissance. Allegories taken from classical culture, olympian divinities and their mythologies were used to express humanistic values. And Botticelli’s city, Florence, was an important centre for humanist studies. Cosimo de’ Medici the Elder sponsored a Platonic Academy here, with philosopher Marsilio Ficino leading the way. With his Birth of Venus, Botticelli was following a trend, speaking the language of the cultured, and pleasing his patrons. (For the complete article go Here).Then I found this on the Mythological Venus:
In Greek mythology, Aphrodite was the goddess of love (equivalent to
the Roman Venus, Egyptian Goddess Isis, the Phoenician Astarte and the
Babylonian Ishtar).
She is known as the Daughter of Heaven and Sea, the child of Uranus and Gaia.
Her story tells of fertility, love and pleasure.
Venus is the goddess of Love and Beauty. She along with her son Cupid (Eros) became a metaphor for sexual love.

Venus represents the feminine aspect in all of us. She is the creational Earth Mother.
Often seen as the bright, silvery morning or evening star, and is the brightest object in the sky after the sun and the moon.

She is said to be either a daughter of Zeus or to have sprung from the foam of the sea.
There are two version of her birth.

In the first version - Hesiod, she was older than Olympians. When the
Titan Cronus severed his father's (Uranus) genitals and flung into the
sea, the blood and semen caused foams to gathered and floated across the
sea to the island of Cyprus. There Aphrodite rose out of the sea from
the foam (hence her name came from the word aphros, which means foams).
She had experienced no infancy or childhood. She was grown, young woman.
The Clam Shell version.
In the second version by Homer, she was known as the daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Dione. The Cherubs Version.

She was married to Hephaestus (Vulcan) but had numerous affairs with
gods and mortals, the most notorious of these, the goddess' long affair
with Ares (Mars) god of war. She was the mother of Eros (Cupid), Deimus
(Fear), Phobus (Panic) and Harmonia, wife of Cadmus.

One of her mortal son, was Aeneas, by her lover was Anchises, king of
Dardania. Anchises was crippled by thunderbolt from Zeus, when he
revealed that he made love to the goddess.
She supported the Trojans during the war, not only because Paris awarded
the apple to
her as the fairest, but that Aeneas also fought with the Trojans. She
tried to rescue her son, when Diomedes wounded him. Diomedes also
wounded her and drove her off the battlefield.

_______________________

So, I'll keep you updated on what happens over the next few days. I mean, it isn't everyday a goddess wakes you up.

By the way, I had a crystal hanging in that window which was between the planet and me when I looked up at it.

Man, I haven't had this much fun since I stood nude under the full moon.

Wednesday

And so he built them wherever he went.He built them between lies and trueBetween rich and poorand even, between the limited sackof junk in his pantsThis king of kings, savior of the 26% of people who vote, was none other than the lord Donald Trumpdelivered to us by none other than Jesus Christ the Superstar!

"I give you this man after my own heart," said Jesus Christ Superstar to his church, "for he..."

It took Jesus Christ the Superstar a few second to come up with a reason, but surely enough, he was Jesus Christ the Superstar and so never failed at anything, and so said, "for he is on Fox TV News."To which all the Fox followers, 16 percent of the voting populace to be exact, mostly living in gated communities with exclusive zip codes and pretend-to-be farms, yelled "Hurray, the Lord has Spoken!" And so, this great president who was known to have had abortions for unwanted children by the unfaithful woman he impregnated, told those who believed it was a sin to abort microscopic skin cells, to stop jacking off.

But of course as we all know, he never quit, I mean, come on, who can? We all do it and all will be condemned to hell for aborting sperm. It's in the bible! Genesis 38:6–10

Tuesday

Along with the celebration of the sun-gods, the Scandinavians also worshipped Odin, who was the god of the intoxicating drink and ecstasy, as well as the god of death. Because the Feast of Saturnalia dealt with all those things, he naturally became the most popular god of Saturnalia. Who did Odin become? You guessed it. Santa Claus.

Odin/Wodan was the god of wisdom, magic, and occult knowledge, runes, poetry, and war. His name means “the inspired one.” He was a tall, old man that had a long, white beard and carried a spear/crosier (in pagan sun-god worship whoever holds the serpent crosier is connected to the power behind that serpent crosier which is the serpent himself, Satan). Odin traveled around the world on a WHITE HORSE that had eight legs (in ancient tradition this was the number of transportation). This is where the eight reindeer came from. With Santa, originally there were eight reindeer. Rudolph was added later in modern times.

In virtually every version of Claus, he carried along with him a dark helper. Eventually, these became the elves. The demon looking helper that stood next to Claus with the horrid red tongue hanging from his mouth were called Krampus. If the children weren’t good they would beat the children. So, the good guy or Savior, Odin who eventually became St. Nicholas, would come and give you gifts if you were good. If you weren’t the “Black Jacks” or dark helpers would institute discipline to the children. “According to legend, the Krampus (who later were renamed elves) would accompany St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives good gifts to good children.”

One picture below shows the naughty children being carried away on a witches broom by a Krampus, which is combination of a human and a goat. We see this all throughout history, a human mixed with a goat. The picture on the left of the children being carried away is a modern day picture of a festival in Germany where they continue to do this celebration and bring out Krampus or Santa’s helpers to this day. St. Nicholas and his demons are still celebrated in Austria, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and more. Every time you would see St. Nicholas he would be accompanied by his bells. They use to have bells that would hang from their necks. You would hear the bells as they announced themselves in the next town they were going into. This is where we get the references to the bells of Christmas.

Exactly where did Santa Clause come from? How did the progression or evolution of Odin becoming Santa Claus happen?

By the 1500’s in Holland, St. Nicholas became Sinterklaas; a kind and wise old man with a white beard, white dress, red cloak, a crosier and riding the skies and roofs of the houses on his white horse, accompanied by his Black Jacks, leaving gifts for people under his sacred tree, the fir tree. He would visit you on his birthday (December 25th), and give you gifts if you had been good or if you had been bad, his Black Jacks would beat you. These stories that are two and three thousand years old still find themselves into our pagan traditions today and we now smile about them.

The most famous words that Santa Claus ever says is, “Ho! Ho! Ho!” but do we ever stop and ask ourselves where did that come from? In the History of Hobgoblin, author Allen W. Wright, reveals “Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the “devil” and Robin’s trademark laugh is “Ho! Ho! Ho!” Back in the 1600’s Robin Goodfellow played the devil in many plays. Before the devil would ever come on stage he would announce himself by saying, “Ho! Ho! Ho!”

By the 1700’s a Dutchman immigrated to North America and brought his SinterClaus with him. The English dialect was then changed to “Santa Claus.”

In 1930 a designer for Coca-Cola Company was trying to get people to buy their drink in the winter time. They took their company colors of red and white, borrowed the Sinterklaas story, changed a few things and out came the modern Santa Claus complete with reindeer and elves. The 1900 designer borrowed a picture from the 1800’s, modernized, added the colors, and out came the Coca-Cola Santa Claus today complete with the long white beard, chubby cheeks, and red and white suit.

IN THE 1970’S THE SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL FORMALLY STATED THAT NO ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP BY THE NAME OF NICHOLAS EVER EXISTED!

They down graded his saint hood because there was evidence that was presented to the Vatican that he never even existed. Vatican further confessed that the legends contributed to this “saint” had no Christian origin, and probably came from pagan traditions!

The evidence showed this saint was made up and connected to the sun god worship of Odin but had been christianized and a saint was made out of him. Eventually, the colors got changed, the elves came into the picture and they went from being evil to cute little guys that make toys which is all American modernization.

The World Book Encyclopedia says, “The belief that Santa enters the house through the chimney developed from an old Norse legend. The Norse believed that goddess Hertha appeared in the fireplace and brought good luck to the home.” That is actually where the word "hearth" comes from, the goddess Hertha, which was the goodness of the Norse. Santa coming through the chimney was in direct reference to a god that came through fire. The World Book Encyclopedia continues by saying, “The Druid homeowners would leave a treat consisting of milk and pastries to appease this god that came down their chimney into their fireplace.” This is where we get the idea of milk and cookies for Santa Claus. We think we made that up and its cute. This goes back a long time back to the Druids when they would put milk and cookies for their god that came through the fireplace on December 25th, on his birthday.

Monday

If you grew up in Dallas, you know about the North Park Mall Santa, the PhD Santa. Yes, Virginia, everything is bigger in Texas. This is a lecture he gave a few years ago. It's a beautiful brainy Christmas thing!

Sunday

MANY,many years ago lived an emperor, who thought so much of new clothes that
he spent all his money in order to obtain them; his only ambition was to be looked at.
He did not care for his soldiers, and the theatre did not amuse him; the
only thing, in fact, he thought anything of was to drive out and show a new suit of
clothes. He had a coat for every hour of the day; and as one would say of a king “He
is in his cabinet,” so one could say of him, “The emperor is in his dressing-room.”

The great city where he resided was very gay; every day many strangers from all
parts of the globe arrived. One day two swindlers came to this city; they made
people believe that they were weavers, and declared they could manufacture the finest
cloth to be imagined. Their colors and patterns, they said, were not only
exceptionally beautiful, but the clothes made of their material possessed the wonderful
quality of being invisible to any person who was unfit for his office or unpardonably stupid.

"That must be wonderful cloth,” thought the emperor. “If I were to be dressed in a
suit made of this cloth I should be able to find out which men in my empire were
unfit for their places, and I could distinguish the clever from the stupid. I must have
this cloth woven for me without delay.” And he gave a large sum of money to the
swindlers, in advance, that they should set to work without any loss of time. They set
up two looms, and pretended to be very hard at work, but they did nothing whatever
on the looms. They asked for the finest silk and the most precious gold-cloth; all they
got they did away with, and worked at the empty looms till late at night.

"I should very much like to know how they are getting on with the cloth,” thought the
emperor. But he felt rather uneasy when he remembered that he who was not fit for
his office could not see it. Personally, he was of opinion that he had nothing to fear,
yet he thought it advisable to send somebody else first to see how matters stood.
Everybody in the town knew what a remarkable quality the stuff possessed, and all
were anxious to see how bad or stupid their neighbours were.

"I shall send my honest old minister to the weavers,” thought the emperor. “He can
judge best how the stuff looks, for he is intelligent, and nobody understands his office
better than he.”

The good old minister went into the room where the swindlers sat before the empty
looms. “Heaven preserve us!” he thought, and opened his eyes wide, “I cannot see
anything at all,” but he did not say so. Both swindlers requested him to come near,
and asked him if he did not admire the exquisite pattern and the beautiful colours,
pointing to the empty looms. The poor old minister tried his very best, but he could
see nothing, for there was nothing to be seen. “Oh dear,” he thought, “can I be so
stupid? I should never have thought so, and nobody must know it! Is it possible that I
am not fit for my office? No, no, I cannot say that I was unable to see the cloth.”

"Now, have you got nothing to say?” said one of the swindlers, while he pretended to
be busily weaving.

"Oh, it is very pretty, exceedingly beautiful,” replied the old minister looking through
his glasses. “What a beautiful pattern, what brilliant colors! I shall tell the emperor
that I like the cloth very much.”

"We are pleased to hear that,” said the two weavers, and described to him the colors
and explained the curious pattern. The old minister listened attentively, that he might
relate to the emperor what they said; and so he did. Now the swindlers asked for more
money, silk and gold-cloth, which they required for weaving. They kept everything for
themselves, and not a thread came near the loom, but they continued, as hitherto, to work
at the empty looms. Soon afterwards the emperor sent another honest courtier to the
weavers to see how they were getting on, and if the cloth was nearly finished. Like the
old minister, he looked and looked but could see nothing, as there was nothing to be seen.

"Is it not a beautiful piece of cloth?” asked the two swindlers, showing and explaining
the magnificent pattern, which, however, did not exist.

"I am not stupid,” said the man. “It is therefore my good appointment for which I am
not fit. It is very strange, but I must not let any one know it;” and he praised the cloth,
which he did not see, and expressed his joy at the beautiful colors and the fine
pattern.

“It is very excellent,” he said to the emperor.

Everybody in the whole town talked about the precious cloth. At last the emperor
wished to see it himself, while it was still on the loom. With a number of courtiers,
including the two who had already been there, he went to the two clever swindlers,
who now worked as hard as they could, but without using any thread.

"Is it not magnificent?” said the two old statesmen who had been there before. “Your
Majesty must admire the colors and the pattern.” And then they pointed to the empty
looms, for they imagined the others could see the cloth.

"What is this?” thought the emperor, “I do not see anything at all. That is terrible! Am
I stupid? Am I unfit to be emperor? That would indeed be the most dreadful thing that
could happen to me.”

"Really,” he said, turning to the weavers, “your cloth has our most gracious
approval;” and nodding contentedly he looked at the empty loom, for he did not like
to say that he saw nothing. All his attendants, who were with him, looked and looked,
and although they could not see anything more than the others, they said, like the
emperor, “It is very beautiful.” And all advised him to wear the new magnificent
clothes at a great procession which was soon to take place. “It is magnificent,
beautiful, excellent,” one heard them say; everybody seemed to be delighted, and the
emperor appointed the two swindlers “Imperial Court weavers.”

The whole night previous to the day on which the procession was to take place, the
swindlers pretended to work, and burned more than sixteen candles. People should
see that they were busy to finish the emperor’s new suit. They pretended to take the
cloth from the loom, and worked about in the air with big scissors, and sewed with
needles without thread, and said at last: “The emperor’s new suit is ready now.”

The emperor and all his barons then came to the hall; the swindlers held their arms up
as if they held something in their hands and said: “These are the trousers!” “This is
the coat!” and “Here is the cloak!” and so on. “They are all as light as a cobweb, and
one must feel as if one had nothing at all upon the body; but that is just the beauty of
them.”

"Indeed!” said all the courtiers; but they could not see anything, for there was nothing
to be seen.

"Does it please your Majesty now to graciously undress,” said the swindlers,
“that we may assist your Majesty in putting on the new suit before the large
looking-glass?” The emperor undressed, and the swindlers pretended to put the new suit
upon him, one piece after another; and the emperor looked at himself in the glass
from every side.

"How well they look! How well they fit!” said all. “What a beautiful pattern!
What fine colors! That is a magnificent suit of clothes!”

The master of the ceremonies announced that the bearers of the canopy, which was to
be carried in the procession, were ready.

"I am ready,” said the emperor. “Does not my suit fit me marvelously?” Then he turned
once more to the looking-glass, that people should think he admired his garments.

The chamberlains, who were to carry the train, stretched their hands to the ground as
if they lifted up a train, and pretended to hold something in their hands; they did not
like people to know that they could not see anything.

The emperor marched in the procession under the beautiful canopy, and all who saw
him in the street and out of the windows exclaimed: “Indeed, the emperor’s new suit
is incomparable! What a long train he has! How well it fits him!” Nobody wished to
let others know he saw nothing, for then he would have been unfit for his office or
too stupid. Never emperor’s clothes were more admired.

"But he has nothing on at all,” said a little child at last. “Good heavens! listen to the
voice of an innocent child,” said the father, and one whispered to the other what the
child had said. “But he has nothing on at all,” cried at last the whole people. That
made a deep impression upon the emperor, for it seemed to him that they were right;
but he thought to himself, “Now I must bear up to the end.” And the chamberlains
walked with still greater dignity, as if they carried the train which did not exist.

Saturday

It is Winter's Solstice, the shortest day of the year. In old times, the village got together to share food with hopes that the Sun would return. Let's all remember this today as we go outside to face the uncertainty of a government shutdown over a 5 billion dollar war which will certainly be the end of the US as we know it. We don't have 5 billion dollars and unless we raise taxes, it will definitely be the turning point. A wall won't keep people out. We all know this. So, instead of building a wall, lets meditate on love. I am.

Meanwhile, I say Merry Christmas and it is for the season as a whole. Especially, it's roots -- sorry Christians, it started long before the Jesus myth. Here is as presented in the book "Merry Christmas! A History of the Holiday" by Patricia Bunning Stevens. Long before the Jesus thing was here, the Egyptians watched the movements of the dog star Sirius, a brilliant object in the sky. Its first appearance on the horizon each h year coincided with the rising of the Nile, and the Egyptians believed that the star caused the waters to overflow. They declared Sirius to be the “creator of all green growing things,” and eagerly watched for it in the half-light before the dawn. Clouting the days between one appearance of the star and the next, the priests discovers that the year was made up of 365 days. They chose the star’s annual day of reappearance in midsummer as the first day of the year.

Reassuring as it was to be able to predict the time of the river’s overflow, a year of 365 days posed problems. At an even earlier period the Egyptians had had a lunar calendar based on the new moon’s appearance every twenty-nine or thirty days. How could the old lunar calendar be reconciled with a year of 365 days? The Egyptians solved their problem by dividing the year into twelve months of thirty days each, and then adding on the extra five days at the end of the year. These days that belonged to no month, days that were spent awaiting the appearance of Sirius, became a festival time.

Wonder and laughter were a part of every Egyptian festival. The first days were spent mostly in preparation. On New Year’s Eve the temples were rededicated. In the capital city the pharaoh himself performed the ceremonies, accompanied by the queen and numerous high priests. Fire was newly kindled and, as twilight deepened, throngs flocked to the temple courtyards to watch torchlight processions leave and begin to wind their way through the darkened streets. The next day, the first day of the New Year, was the Egyptians’ most important holiday.

both food and drink were abundant and people wore their finest clothes. Small gifts, perfume bottles or amulets inscribed au ab nab (all good luck), were exchanged between friends. Custom demanded that peasants and leaseholders present more sizable gifts to the lord whose land they worked, but these too were given in a holiday spirit. New Year’s night was taken up with more torchlight processions, and only when exhaustion drove the crowds home was the festival officially ended.

In ancient Mesopotamia life was more uncertain. The land lay between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; crops, and therefore survival, depended on the annual overflow from the rivers. But the Tigris and the Euphrates were not nearly as dependable as the Nile, nor as predictable. The people could not know exactly when the rivers would rise, nor how much water they would bring. They only knew that at certain times of the year the earth was parched and dry, that all growing things were dead, and that if water did not come again they would face eventual starvation.

These early Mesopotamians believed that the land was barren because Tammuz (later Marduk), the god of all growing things, was imprisoned in the underworld—held captive by the dragon Tiamat. it was the duty of the whole nation, and most especially the king, to help Tammuz fight his way back to each so the crops would grow again.

This battle became the theme of the Mesopotamian New Year’s festival which, like the Egyptian holiday, began almost five thousand years ago. The celebration lasted for twelve days, and the mood was more somber than in Egypt, at least for the first days of the feast. Excitement, anticipation, but most of all fear, marked the beginnings of the ritual. The god Tammuz must be mourned. Even the kind did penance, assuring the god that he had carried out his duties, that he had “not destroyed Babylon” (the great capital city). There was great commotion in the streets as crowds searched for the missing god and groups of men staged mock battles on his behalf. bonfires were built, and in them were burned wooden effigies of the dragon Tiamat. Tension ran high. Tammuz must be found and freed; life must return to the land.

The dragon Tiamat.

Finally, on the sixth day, the god triumphed. Rescued by his son, the god Nabu, he returned to earth victorious, and married Ishtar, the goddess of battles. The king, now impersonating the god, appeared amid wild rejoicing. Bands of costumed men roamed the city, forming torchlight processions at nightfall. For the next six days, gaily decorated wagons, filled with the statues of gods and goddesses were paraded down the great avenues. More bonfires were built, and feasting and drinking went on all night. In the daylight hours friends visited each other and exchanged gifts. finally, on the twelfth day, the statues of the gods and goddesses were returned to the temples. The people’s fate had been decided for yet another year, and good had conquered evil. On the twelfth night one last and most uproarious feast ended the holiday season.

Nabu, the old-time myth god.

So, when you hear me and those others Truth Seekers say Merry Christmas this year, remember some of us do follow the old religion.

Thursday

The Earth as we know it is about to change. I've seen it. If you are a Christian, you know that line in there about how you can't serve two master, both god and money, well, it has something to do with that and how you've totally turned your back on Jesus supporting Donald Trump. It's not too late, but to correct this you'll have to vote Democrat the rest of your life to balance things out and repent for your sins. On a lighter note, that Asteroid that is coming right for us I keep warning you about, well...

According to NASA, the asteroid’s closest approach to Earth will equal 0.01372 astronomical units (au).

Saturday

The Foolish King

Once upon a time, there was a foolish King who believed that he was the cleverest of all the people in his kingdom. He was convinced that nobody could trick him. Every day he displayed his wisdom in his palace, and predictably, his minsters applauded every word he spoke.

Not satisfied, the King decided to find out if there was anybody in the world who was smarter than he was.

He ordered his ministers, “Find a person smarter than me. A person who is clever and can outsmart me. Search the world and bring a person before me. I will test him and if I beat him he has to be my slave.”

The King’s ministers set out to find such a person who can take on the King. They met several wise men, but they were smart enough to know that if you compete with the King, you may end up being the slave. Therefore, nobody was ready to take up the challenge.

Worried over the prospect of returning to the King without any challenger, the ministers reached the very border of the kingdom. They decided to spend the night in the nearby village. The villagers here were poor because the farmlands belonged to the king. Besides, he charged the villagers a hefty tax for using it. Therefore, the villagers were left with nothing, even if they toiled throughout the year.

Despite their hardship, they treated the king’s men well. They gave them a hearty meal, and entertained them around a campfire lit in the village center with stories, poems, and riddles. During the course of the evening, one fellow caught the attention of the ministers. He was very quick with his answers and clever in his ways. His name was Vonik. They approached him and suggested that he travel with them to the King’s palace, and compete with him.

Although reluctant at first, Vonik agreed to go with them. He said, “I won’t take my coat or my hat. I will come with you if you agree to take me to King just like this”. The King’s men agreed and they took him to the king.

“So you think that you are very clever”, the King asked Vonik, when he was presented before the King. He then commanded, “I challenge you to trick me”. “But I am warning you, I am a very tricky customer, and you will not be able to beat me” the King added.

Vonik replied, “I am afraid of just that, your majesty. I would not have come if I had time to think. I left in such a hurry that I forgot to take my coat and hat, and even my tools to trick people”.

“You use tools for tricking people?” the King was intrigued.

“Yes, your majesty”, Vonik replied.

"I would like to see the tools that you use. Why don’t you go home and return with them", the King ordered.

“But I need 100 horse pulled carts to bring them all. And it will take at least six months to load them”, Vonik replied.

“Take whatever you need from my stables, but come back as soon as you can”, the King was becoming impatient.

So Vonik took the 100 finest horses from the Kings stables, 100 carts and set out towards his village, Just before leaving he asked the King again, “If I lose to you, I will become your slave, but what if I win?”

“That won’t happen. However, for the sake of the contest, I can make a promise. What do you want?”, asked the King.

“I want something that you never use”, Vonik was quick in his reply.

“Okay”, the King said, and Vonik left for his village.

Once in the village, Vonik split the 100 horses between the villagers and with their help completed one season of cultivation. All the grain was cut and filled into the granaries within the stipulated six months.

At the end of six months, Vonik filled his carts with empty wine containers, and left for the palace.

The King welcomed him and demanded to see the tools that he brought. Vonik started unpacking them, and the King’s dog came into the room. Seeing a stranger, the dog went up to Vonik and sniffed him.

“There is another problem, your majesty”, Vonik told the King. “This dog just told me that my wife is seriously ill, your majesty. I have to go. Please lend me your best horse, so I can reach their fast”, requested Vonik.

The King relented on the condition that he will return as early as possible. Vonik reached his village and sold the black horse given to him and bought a black donkey instead. He came back sitting on the black donkey.

“What is this? What took you so long and where is my horse?” the King exclaimed.

“The horse turned into a donkey on the way and that’s why it took me so long to reach home and return. Why did you give me such a horse?” he asked the King.

“Sorry, I didn’t know that. He was fine all the years I rode him”, the King sounded almost apologetic.

“Now forget all that, have a seat. And when are you going to try and trick me? “, the King queried.

“Sit down your majesty. Let me ask some questions. Did you ever use any tools for outsmarting people? asked Vonik.

“No”, said the King.

“Then how did you believe that I use some tools to do that. If you focus, you will realize that I already tricked you once,” said Vonik.

The King had no alternative, but to accept.

“Now did your dog ever talk to you? How did you ever believe that it I talked to me?“, asked Vonik.

The King was beginning to see the light.

“Now did the black horse ever turn into a donkey all these years? You believed that as well. If you notice, I tricked you three times already”, Vonik said triumphantly.

The King realised he had lost the duel. As per the agreement, he asked, “Now I have to give you something I don’t use. What do you want?”

“Your head” pat came Vonik’s reply.

The foolish King got scared and began trembling. Vonik took pity on him and said, “But you can give me something else instead. That farmlands and forests should be returned to the villagers to earn their livelihood”.

The King readily agreed and gave back the villagers rights. Vonik returned to his village and lived a long and happy life.

The foolish King never tried to ascertain his smartness again.

Moral: Those who think they are the smartest, are usually the biggest fools. People who think they are wise, when they are not are worse than fools. (English proverb)

Tuesday

On this day (December 4th) in 1872, the Mary Celeste was found in the Atlantic Ocean, about 400 miles (640km) east of the Azores, with some of the sails still set but no sign of life anywhere. In a fictional recounting of the incident in 1884, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle -- be still my beating heart -- would write an embellished retelling of the story stating that there still being half-eaten meals in the cabins, hot coffee on the stove, and cigar smoke in the air. These details were a fabrication, but is true about the story is the ten crew members were never seen again and the ships cargo (1,700 barrels of commercial-grade alcohol) untouched. There were no signs of force or mishap, just the silent ship floating on echo-less waters. The ship was found on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and so we can rule out the Bermuda Triangle, what we can't rule out though is....

In other news, Space X launched its Falcon 9 with 64 satellites on it. Why 64? Am I the only one to see something funny in this number? I mean, there are 64 condons in our DNA code? The I Ching has 64 Hexagrams? And if you really want to get down to it:

As a product of 8 x 8, it is the expression of a realized totality and perfect.

According to R. Allendy, this number represents the "static
realization - even number - of the cosmic unit - 6 + 4 = 10 - in the
blooming of the beatitude. It is the final liberation which allows to
the being to realize its full individuality after its cycle 4, in the
links of the cosmic Karma, 60". It would represent also the natural
forces acting in union with the providential determinations of the
Cosmos.

Being the cube of 4, the number 64 represents the physical world
of the four elements to the third power, in the plenitude of its
expansion.

According to Claude of Saint-Martin, this number represents the
"complement of the octagonal circle where the powerful number, after
having covered all the depths of area and of the existence of the
beings, restore the unit in its simple number, there where it was
divided, and the action where reigned the nothingness and the death".

Symbol of the paramount chaos.

Bible

It is the number of generations from Adam until Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke.

General

The mother of Buddha had, according to the tradition, to born in a family endowed of 64 species of qualities.

Age of the Virgin Mary when she died, according to visions of Ann-Catherine Emmerich.

The mathematician W. R. Ball reports the following legend: In a
temple of Benares, there is a dome under which a plate of bronze marks
the center of the world. On this plate, there are three vertical stems
of one cubit height. During the creation of the world, God placed on one
of the stems 64 discs of gold of different sizes, the largest at the
basis, the others going decreasing. In top, the smallest disc. This
accumulation is the tower of Brahma. Night and day, without stop, the
priests relay to transfer the discs from a stem to another. Only one
disc must be take at once and it is forbidden to place a disc on another
of lower diameter. When the 64 discs will be transferred from the tower
of Braham to an other stem, the temple and the Universe will crumble.
This will be the end of the world.

The Chinese tradition wants that Confucius has had 64 generations since Hoang-ti, founder of the dynasty.

The 64 devas of the Abhavara class, at the Indians.

The 64 Koua (hexagrams) of the Yi-King.

To the funerals of Alexander the Great, the mortuary chariot was dragged by 64 mules.

The 64 persons in China who carry the skin of the defunct emperor.

The 64 "tantras" (books) of the "tantrism", which is a form of Hinduism.

The magic square using the first sixty four numbers is associated with the Mercury planet and has for sum 260.